CK's Hot Shoppes Dishes Up Authentic Filipino Food

Todd Price delves into the pork and vinegar world of Crispin Pasia, a Filipino chef who has worked for Paul Prudhomme for 18 years. Pasia has opened a restaurant of his own - CK's Hot Shoppes - in the back of a Central City corner store, where, Price reports, his customer base is primarily composed of his fellow Filipino-Americans.

Price was able to get the good stuff when going with a Filipina friend of his, but had to cajole Pasia into letting him eat papaitan, a spicy tripe stew/dish instead of the more "safe" beef bulalo soup.

So if you go CK's Hot Shoppes without a Filipino escort, a) know what you're getting yourself into - like the dinuguan, "a blood-thickened stew that looks like a muddy creek after an oil spill but has that a primal, satisfying flavor familiar to fans of boudin noir." and b) be prepared to fight for the offal offerings.

Also, check out the Crispy Pata, which is a garlic fried pig's leg, with hoof still attached. "It could illustrate a lesson on porcine anatomy," Price notes.